


Keep your eyes on me

by PrinceofBadassery



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, friendship building, mute!bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 18:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10747113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceofBadassery/pseuds/PrinceofBadassery
Summary: After Bucky has been rescued from HYDRA before they could wreck too much havoc in DC he doesn't talk. He's like a ghost haunting the tower, silently observing and living away. Steve tries his best to get him to talk with no luck.Tony on the other hand finds it surprisingly easy to communicate with the former assassin and honestly, he talks enough for both of them anyway.





	Keep your eyes on me

**Author's Note:**

> Drabble list on my tumblr: https://berserkhamster.tumblr.com/post/158660461442/drabble-list

The man really was a ghost. Ever since Barnes had been rescued from HYDRA Tony had maybe seen him enter a room twice but he had always somehow appeared on the couch, at the kitchen counter or in the hallway behind him without Tony noticing. The guy was just too damn silent all the time and he almost blended in with the furniture. It had startled Tony and almost caused a heart attack the first few times he had spotted Barnes in the corner of his eye but he eventually got used to it. Barnes never said anything, only looked up behind the curtain of hair and winced silent and apologetic. He looked like he wanted to disappear through the nearest wall every time Tony got startled by him, like his mere presence was too much. 

In general Barnes didn't talk much, not with Tony and not with Steve, in fact, Tony didn't even know if Barnes had said one word since he had gotten to the tower. Except for Steve nobody talked to him, everybody ignored him, treated him like the ghost they saw him as. Steve talked to him but didn't get much out of him besides short nods or the shaking of his head. Barnes always looked uncomfortable by Steve's prompts to open his mouth and produce words and their "conversations" always ended with Steve sighing and patting Barnes on the shoulder saying it's alright but Tony could see it wasn't really alright, for neither of them.

Barnes avoided Steve in his own subtle way, he used the gym at a different time, came to the kitchen only when Steve had already eaten, they still spent time together in the afternoon but overall Barnes' schedule overlapped more with Tony's than it did with Steve's. 

Tony grunted a good morning when he came into the kitchen, he was still too far asleep to notice it was only Barnes who was sitting at the counter. He got an acknowledging nod in return so Tony was satisfied his greeting was well received and proceeded to the coffee maker. He had fallen asleep over his latest project in the lab and he was sure he still had imprints from a screwdriver on his cheek that he had slept on but coffee was his priority.

Once he had a steaming cup in his hand he slapped down his tablet on the kitchen counter and produced a holographic projection of the new propulsion system for his suit, he sipped his coffee while turning it this and that way, mumbling to himself between sips about what to change and poking in some notes for the calculations. It took him until he had finished his first cup and turned to get another one to notice that Barnes was watching the floating diagram intensely. Not the grumpy gaze he used when he observed people in the common room but with a curious sparkle in his eyes. Tony refilled his cup and returned to the projection, spinning it around and watching Barnes in his peripheral vision. 

"You want me to explain some things?" Tony turned to Barnes and gestured to the floating image. Barnes' eyes moved from the projection to Tony, it was the only reaction Tony got and he already feared he had gone too far with Barnes. He had never talked to him besides the occasional greeting, but then Barnes gave one of those tiny nods and Tony launched into a detailed explanation almost instantly. Pointing out things here and there, explaining the concept and science behind it. Barnes was an avid listener, basically clinging to Tony's words and nodding alone. Only sometimes did his brows scrunch up in confusion and Tony elaborated a little bit until Barnes nodded his understanding. It was simple and Tony didn't understand why Steve made such a big deal about Barnes actually talking. They communicated quite well without it and Tony talked enough for both of them. 

It felt good explaining things to someone again. Tony really missed Bruce who he used to bounce ideas off of, it had helped him figure things out, work out the kinks, come up with solutions. Bruce of course usually answered him and with his expertise in a different field of science he often gave Tony a different perspective. Barnes was different. As far as Tony knew he had no scientific background and it was even questionable how much he remembered from his education in the 40s. Tony didn't dumb down his explanation though, he wasn't about to insult the man's intelligence and curiosity. He just had to go deeper with it, lay down the basics before moving to more complex concepts. After all you couldn't build a house without knowing how to mortar two bricks together. 

Tony was on his fourth cup of coffee when Steve came into the kitchen looking surprised to find both of them there. Tony realised that by this time Barnes would have usually left to avoid running into Steve. He closed the projection and excused himself, feeling bad for keeping Barnes so long that he had to deal with Steve now. Barnes didn't look at him when he left.

The next day was almost a repeat except Tony felt nervous when he walked into the kitchen to see Barnes there, he wasn't sure how the other had taken their little conversation the other day but Tony for one had hoped to see him again. He had come up with a few new ideas and was eager to tell someone about it. He hadn't been this excited to talk about his invention in ages since nobody cared to listen or was even remotely interested in the things he built. Barnes however had shown interest and Tony hoped it wasn't just a one time thing because he had been bored or he was already fed up with how much Tony talked. 

All his fears evaporated when Barnes looked up and it wasn't a smile but it also wasn't the completely blank expression either. His eyes looked a little softer than yesterday and there was that curious sparkle again. 

"Hey Buckeroo, left some coffee for me I hope." Tony said on his way to the coffee maker and Barnes nodded, then his gaze wandered down to the tablet he had stuck under his armpit and Tony knew he would run off at the mouth for at least three cups worth of coffee and then let Barnes escape before Steve found him. 

The next days started a routine, they met in the kitchen most mornings, eventually they also met in the common area. Barnes turned into Bucky and they built something that could be called a friendship. The more time they spent with each other and with Tony talking away the more Bucky warmed up to him, eventually engaging more in the conversations. He still didn't talk and Tony couldn't care less, when Bucky wanted to know more about something he pointed to it on the diagram or on the tablet and Tony learned how to read his facial expressions reasonably well and could tell when something was confusing or maybe a bit too complicated and he had to explain things a bit more extensively. He could also tell when Bucky got annoyed when he explained too much about a topic that Bucky was already familiar with. 

It was all in those steel grey eyes. The rest of Bucky's face usually remained blank but his eyes held the most vivid expressions if one paid attention to them and really Tony couldn't stop looking at them after a while. 

Tony knew a bad day when he saw one and Bucky definitely had one when he found the man staring into space in the common room one day, his face eerily blank, his whole body tense. He was pretty sure Steve was usually the one taking care of him when he was out of it like this and Tony didn't know the protocol for navigating safely around the former assassin, he didn't know how much of Bucky's programming was currently in control. Was it better to leave him alone or to communicate with him? Tony wasn't sure if he would react violently if startled but he knew from his own experiences when he was so far into his head and his nightmares he wished someone would have been there with him. If only so he wasn't alone when he came out of it.

He prepared a big cup of coffee for him and some hot chocolate for Bucky. He set both down on the couch table, careful not to make too much noise, then settled on the couch himself, far enough away that he was out of arms reach for Bucky just in case but close enough to be a presence for the other man. 

"I'll just do some work here, if that's alright with you, buttercup." He said softly. Bucky didn't acknowledge him at all so Tony just went about his work and occasionally glanced over to him. It took some time before Tony noticed any changes in Bucky, at first it was just a slight shift in his posture that told Tony that he was probably coming out of it. Eventually Bucky blinked and his gaze focused again, he looked confused and Tony put his tablet down to watch him closer. Bucky first noticed the cup on the table and looked at it like he had no idea what it was or how it got there and then he turned his head towards Tony and his eyes widened in surprise. 

"Hey buddy, you back with me? The chocolate is for you, might be a bit cold now." 

Bucky looked like Tony felt in the morning before his first cup of coffee, whatever had been going in his head it had taken a lot out of him and his movements where sluggish when he reached for the hot chocolate and brought it to his lips. He seemed to relax a little when took the first few sips and Tony was glad he had the foresight to make it for him. 

"Do you want me to talk? You know, how we usually do?" 

The man looked completely lost as he stared into his cup, at first Tony thought he hadn't heard him but then Bucky nodded ever so slowly. Tony just wanted to hug the guy and give him some comfort but he really had no idea how Bucky would react to being touched. For all the time they had spent together they never had any physical contact, always just sitting across from each other at the counter or at the table. Tony was willing to try though so he held out his hand.

"Come here, cupcake, snuggle up and I'll show you want I got brewing in the lab." 

To Tony's surprise Bucky didn't hesitate for long and scooted over to him until their shoulders brushed together. Tony wrapped his arm around him and pulled him in the last little bit, he rested his hand on Bucky's head instead of his left shoulder, leaving that particular subject for some other time. He carded his fingers through Bucky's hair and felt the other melt against him, his head dropped on Tony's shoulder and he started to tremble lightly, letting out some shaky breaths. 

"It's alright, sunshine, it's alright." Tony continued to smooth over Bucky's hair and started to talk about his project a little bit, nothing too complicated, he mostly showed diagrams and illustrations on his tablet that looked interesting, just something to distract Bucky. Eventually the other calmed down but they stayed cuddled together on the couch, Tony switched to funny cat videos when he felt Bucky's attention waver and he didn't feel like talking anymore. 

Their quiet moment came to an end when Steve came into the room and whisked Bucky away. It left Tony missing the warm presence at his side and he reluctantly returned to his lab.


End file.
